Style
• geometric and angular shapes
• chrome, glass, shiny fabrics, mirrors and mirror tiles
• stylised images of aeroplanes, cars, cruise liners, skyscrapers
• nature motifs - shells, sunrises, flowers
• theatrical contrasts - highly polished wood and glossy black lacquer mixed with satin and furs
Influences
• art nouveau - deco kept the nature motifs of its predecessor but discarded its flowing organic shapes and pastels for bolder materials and colours such as chrome and black
• cubism -painters such as Picasso were experimenting with space, angles and geometry
• early Hollywood - the glamorous world of the silver screen filtered through to design using shiny fabrics, subdued lighting, and mirrors. Cocktail cabinets and smoking paraphernalia became highly fashionable
The names
• Eileen Gray - furniture
• Raymond Templier - jewellery
• Clarice Cliff - china
• René Lalique - glass and jewellery
At the time
• 1912 RMS Titanic sails
• 1922 Tutankhamun's tomb is discovered
• 1922 Ulysses by James Joyce is published
• 1931 Empire State Building is completed
• Film stars - Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire
• The charleston and tango are the latest dance crazes, jazz is born and the singer Josephine Baker thrills Paris
Get the look
• Furniture - choose strong, streamlined shapes for furniture and in single pieces rather than suites.
• Fabrics - stick to plain or geometric fabrics and add highlights with cushions also in one solid block of colour.
• Floors - plain polished parquet is perfect for floors. Linoleum in abstract designs or black and white chequerboard vinyl tiles are also typical.
• Rugs - floors would have been overlaid with a large rug in geometric patterns. These were often handmade by artists such as Duncan Grant (of Bloomsbury Group fame).
• Fireplaces - fireplaces should be rectangular and bold. Surrounds were often tiled in pink, green or beige. They were made of concrete and not many survive today.
• Colour - halls suit bold colour schemes such as silver, black, chrome, yellow and red. Creams, greens and beige, or oyster and eau-de-nil suit living rooms and bedrooms.
• Cupboards - cabinets, wardrobes, etc should be in pale veneered wood and simple shapes in keeping with the light, airy feel.
• Design - the stepped profile is the epitome of the art deco shape, found everywhere from uplighters to picture surrounds. Also look for zigzags, chevrons and lightning bolts.
• Lighting - lights featuring female figures holding the ball of the lamp are typical and good reproductions abound. Also look for chrome, a brand new material at the time, and glass. Glass would have been etched, sandblasted or enamelled rather than coloured.
clipped from bbc.co.uk.
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